Section Eight: Mail Merge

Mail Merge

The mail merge process comes in handy if you need to send similar documents to many individuals at once. The recipient's name and other personal information are often added to a document to create a more personal impression.

The three steps in mail merge process:

  1. Create the main document.
  2. Create the data source.
  3. Merge the data source and main document.

The main document in the mail merge process contains the basic text that is common to all the versions of the merged documents.

The data source contains the personalized information that varies for each merged document, such as name, address, and telephone number.
To merge a main document with a data source, merge fields must be inserted into the document. A merge field is a code that represents a field name from the data source.

Practice:

You are the president of a bank. Your bank is celebrating its 5th anniversary. In honour of the occasion, starting September 1, 2000, you are offering your preferred customers some rewards.

Create the main document

  1. Type a letter to your Preferred Customers to let them know that in appreciation of their business you are giving them free Interac Direct Payment purchases, and free bill payments. Following is a sample letter:

    West Man Bank
    1234 Pacific Avenue
    Brandon, Manitoba
    R7A 1Y9

    February 2, 2000

    Joe Boles
    111 - 1st Street
    Brandon, Manitoba
    R1B 1C1


    Dear Joe:

    We have some great news for you! Effective September 1, 2000, we're adding some great new features to your West Man Chequing Account - free!

    On September 1, 2000, your chequing account #001-23456 will be upgraded to a Preferred Customer Account. This special account is exclusive to our best clients.

    Right now, you are charged 30 cents each time you make Interac Direct Payment debit and purchases, and up to $1.30 if you make bill payments at a branch. With a Preferred Customer Account, these services will be free! Simply maintain your minimum balance of $500 throughout the calendar month and enjoy free Interac Direct Payment purchases, and free bill payments, regardless of whether you pay by phone, by PC, or at a branch. A Preferred Customer Account really does give you more!

    Having you as a customer is very important to us. We appreciate your business, and want to ensure that you get the best possible value for your money.

    If you have any questions about this new account, I invite you to call us at 727-4567. We'd be happy to answer any questions you have.

    Sincerely,



    Your name
    President
    Core Banking Services


  2. Save your letter as "Rewards".
  3. ClickTools on the Menu bar. Choose Mail Merge.Click the Create button.Choose Form Letters to create a main document.

    Mail Merge Helper

  4. Choose the Active Window button if your document is already open, otherwise click the New Main document button. For this exercise click the Active Window buttonto select the document displayed on your screen.

    Active Document

    Create data source

  5. Click Get Data button.
    Choose the Create Data Source button to attach a new data source. Click the Open Data Source button to attach an existing data source. In this exercise click the Create Data Source button.

    Create Data Source


    Since we need only First name, Last name, Address, City, State, and Postal code fields, in the Field names in header row box select and remove the following field names:
    • Title
    • Job Title
    • Company
    • Address2
    • Country
    • HomePhone
    • WorkPhone

    Create Data Source

  6. Click OK.
  7. Save the data source as "MailingList".
  8. Click Edit Data Source button to add new records to the data source.

    Edit Data Source

  9. Now, enter the information for each customer on your mailing list. (Enter at least eight customers)
    ( Hints: PressTab to move to next area.
    Click on Add New to enter the information for the next customer.)
  10. Click View Source to view the data source.

    Data Form

  11. Your data source should look something like this:

    FirstName LastName Address1 City State PostalCode
    Joe Boles 111 - 1st Street Brandon Manitoba R1B 1C1
    Mary Brown 222 - 6th Street Neepawa Manitoba R7A 1A2
    John Smith 333 Summer Ave Virden Manitoba R1A Y7G
    Kathy Sallans 444 Lucky Cres. Brandon Manitoba R9V 4V5
    Tracy Hayward 555 5th Street Swan River Manitoba R7J 9V2
    Ruth Conway 888 Winter Bay Brandon Manitoba R9B 7H6
    Lisa Kozak 777 Summer Bay Brandon Manitoba R9T 1D5
    Theresa McDonald 666 Princess Ave Minnedosa Manitoba R8C 1D5

  12. Click the Save Save Button button on the Toolbar to save the information you entered.

    Merge the data source and main document

  13. Click the Mail Merge Main Documentbutton to return to the main document.

    Mail Merge Main Document

  14. Select the area of text that you want to change in each letter. (e.g.: the first name)
    Select Text
  15. Click the Insert Merge Fieldbuttonto display a list of field names. Click the field name that corresponds to the text you selected.

    Insert Merge Field

  16. Repeat the above 2 steps for all the text you want to change in each letter.
    (In this exercise we still need to change the following fields:
    Last name
    Address
    City
    Province
    Postal code
    First name in the salutation area)

  17. Click theSave button on the Toolbar to save your document. Your document should look something like this:
    Sample
  18. Click Merge To New Documentto merge the main document and the data source.

    Merge to New Document

  19. Scroll through your document to look at your letters.

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